For Ruth

Over Thanksgiving my Grandfather's wife, my Step-grandmother, Ruth, passed away. Ruth was always very kind to everyone. She always had a smile, even when her own health began to deteriorate. She was always very well put-together, as most women of her era were. Her hair was stark white and always curled with tiny little loops that framed her features. She was always eager to help out in the kitchen and would often espouse the benefits of certain foods, like broccoli or spinach. "Eight almonds a day will prevent cancer," she once told me when my then fiance and I stopped in on a drive back home for Christmas. True to her word, she provided the necessary nutrition at breakfast, a little cluster of raw almonds nestled on each napkin. She was honest, wholesome, cheerful, and caring. I once had the pleasure of hosting her for dinner at my little house in Cardiff, but she refused to sit by and be served and insisted on helping out with the salad, as the least she could do. And so, for Ruth, I say thank you, god bless, and watch over us from your inevitable perch in heaven, where the clouds are rivaled only by your own, white curls.